


Do You Want to Dance?

by HundredSunsets



Category: Carrie - Stephen King, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: 'they don't have mobile phones in Star Wars you know' yeah I know, and ended up at the What Even Is This station, but I hopped onboard the I Do What I Want Train, but you might enjoy it more if you have, i have so many regrets, now, the au no one wanted, this is what happens when you read your favourite book too many times, you don't have to have read Carrie for this to make sense
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-24
Updated: 2017-02-24
Packaged: 2018-09-26 16:35:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 15,549
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9911513
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HundredSunsets/pseuds/HundredSunsets
Summary: Kaeden is only trying to make amends.Or: 'What none of them knew, of course, was that Barriss Offee was Force-sensitive.'





	

It began, as most dreadful things do, on a Monday morning.

It began, as most dreadful things also do, as nothing out of the ordinary.

There were two hundred and twelve students in year thirteen at Temple Street High School, Coruscant, at the beginning of May 1979. Two hundred and twelve due to leave at the end of June. But when that time rolled around, there would be just fifteen left.

None of them knew that, however, and would not until it was too late. What they did know was that what was happening that Monday was absolutely typical, where Barriss was concerned. Of the two hundred and twelve, fifty had gone to school with her since primary school. They had met her, formed an opinion, and held onto it. The rest had learnt. It wasn't hard to. The sixteen teenagers in first-period Galactic History certainly knew. That was why they did what they did.

It was only a joke. Only a laugh.

It was only Barriss, after all. It wasn't like they were doing it to one of their own, to a proper person, to someone who mattered.

Only a joke. Only Barriss. They all knew that.

What none of them knew, of course, was that Barriss Offee was Force-sensitive.

 

* * *

 

"And you really think she'll believe it?"

"Oh, please. It's Barriss. She'll be" —Asajj Ventress adopted a mocking Core accent— " _very grateful you told her, thank you."_

Kaeden Larte leaned back in her seat at the back of the classroom, frowning. Since when was Asajj so close with Letta Turmond? She didn't think she'd ever seen them sitting together before, and certainly not talking. They didn't share any common ground that she knew of. Well—apart from the subject of their conversation. Poking fun at Barriss Offee was a game the whole year group knew how to play.

It wasn't that Kaeden thought it was okay. Once or twice, she'd even tried to intervene. Sure, she was a little scared of the ringleaders in the... ( _bullying? Is it really that?_ ) whatever it was, of people like Asajj, but she'd still tried. It hadn't worked, though. Barriss was just one of those people, one of those poor unfortunates who seemed to have been born with a 'kick me' sign stuck on their back, and a few sharp words to those who saw that invisible sign and obeyed it weren't enough to erase it.

Telling a teacher? No, thank you. Getting that involved in someone else's business was guaranteed to make things worse. As for trying to be a real friend to Barriss, the thought had never occurred to the usually empathetic Kaeden. And she'd be lying if she said there weren't times she looked at Barriss and thought, _I'm glad that's not me._

Besides, it didn't seem like Barriss _minded_ all that much. In the eight months since Kaeden's family had moved from Raada to Coruscant and Kaeden had transferred to Temple Street High School, she'd never seen Barriss react with more than a blush, or an awkward expression. She was used to it, to the taunts and the feet stuck out to trip her in the corridor and the chairs pulled away as she tried to sit down. There was no way it really bothered her. Right?

Kaeden realised then that she was staring at her. Barriss was seated alone at a desk across the room, her expression one of concentration as she took notes from the board, copying them all down onto a datapad. The sun was shining on her face and she squinted against it, but did not allow herself to become distracted. When she leaned forward to get a closer look at the board, a few strands of hair fell down from her ponytail, and she brushed them away, her hand skimming the tattoos on her cheek as she did so.

 _If I were her, I'd cover those up._ Kaeden was ashamed of herself for thinking it, but it was true. It was a Mirialan thing, she knew, but not exactly something people did these days. There'd been a fair few Mirialans on Raada, and none of them had tattoos.

"It's, like... no one in my family's bothered with all that for _centuries_. Literally," her friend Elain had told her a few years back. "The tattoos are this weird Force thing." She'd laughed. "And my whole family is made up of atheists."

"Is Mirial a religious planet?" Kaeden had asked. Elain had responded with a shrug.

"Never been there. But from what my gran says, no more than here. Some people believe in the Force. Some don't. Most haven't got a clue. But when you meet Mirialans with tattoos... well, there are believers, right? But then there're the kind of people who tell you that the Dark Side's laid a claim on you 'cause you mentioned evolution. No prizes for guessing which ones go in for all that tattooing stuff."

Kaeden had, several weeks ago, been told completely out of the blue that the Dark Side had corrupted her. By Barriss. Right then, it had been just a bit difficult to feel sorry for her.

"Hey!" Kaeden jumped. Asajj was snapping her fingers in front of her face. "Are you listening to me, Larte?"

"Uh... sorry, what was it?"

Asajj rolled her eyes. "Get Barriss' attention."

"I... Wait, what?"

"Just do it." Letta had joined the conversation, lolling over the back of her chair. "Quickly, before Billaba comes back." The Galactic History teacher had left the room several minutes ago to go and get something, and, in her absence, the class had descended into chatter.

"I think Barriss might be kind of busy?" Kaeden ventured. It was true. Barriss was still taking notes and didn't look like she wanted to be disturbed. Letta looked impatient.

"Just throw something at her," she said flatly. Kaeden paused.

"Actually, I think I'll go and get her instead," she replied. She pushed her chair away, crossing the room to where Barriss sat. The other girl didn't look around, didn't even register her presence.

Kaeden cleared her throat. "Hey. Barriss?"

Barriss blinked up at her, startled. "Oh. Hello." She watched Kaeden uncertainly, waiting.

"Those two want to talk to you." Kaeden pointed to Asajj and Letta, who were now waving to Barriss, beckoning her over. Barriss blinked again. She was starting to remind Kaeden of an owl.

"Thank you," she said, bowing her head slightly. She got up and walked over slowly, and Kaeden observed as Asajj and Letta, looking practically friendly, said something, nodding vigorously as they did so. Barriss' lips moved in reply, a small frown growing on her face. Letta put a hand on her arm and said something else, smiling reassuringly. Barriss hesitated, then she gave a nod and smiled back before returning to her seat, passing Kaeden on the way.

Kaeden sat down again at her own desk, feeling oddly apprehensive. In front of her, Letta and Asajj were whispering. After a moment, Letta giggled. Okay, that was weird.

"Guys?" Kaeden's brow furrowed. "What did you say to her?"

"We were just offering some advice." Letta smiled sweetly. Kaeden glanced at Barriss, then back again.

"What kind of—"

"Hello, everybody. I apologise for taking so long." The door opened and Depa Billaba swept in. Kaeden hurriedly dropped back into her seat. "I got held up talking to a year eight. Quite why he thought I'd know anything about the essay he was supposed to be doing is beyond me."

"What did you tell him, Ms Billaba?" someone at the back of the room asked.

"I told him to get to class, naturally." She smiled. "He walked halfway up the corridor before deciding to bother the next teacher who came along."

"Year eights are the worst," Barriss announced, sounding nervous. She did that, sometimes. Said things she clearly thought the others would agree with, but with such a lack of conviction that it was obvious she was just trying to fit in. Kaeden felt embarrassed on her behalf, almost to the point of wanting to say something, but not knowing how to without making things worse.

"You were a year eight once," Ms Billaba said pointedly, raising her eyebrows.

"Yeah, and she's still the worst!"

Kaeden didn't know who'd said that, but several people snorted with laughter. She didn't join in.

"Alright!" Ms Billaba called out. "That is enough. If we could get back to the Mandalorian War?" Silence fell. "Thank you. Now, can anyone remember the causes of the war?"

No one answered. In her mind, Kaeden was going over the presentation she gave on the topic last week. Causes. Hmm. Wasn't it something to do with—

And that was when Barriss pushed her chair back and stood up on her desk.

* * *

 

_Things are finally turning around._

No one had ever cared to offer Barriss advice before. But Asajj had been unexpectedly helpful, and Letta had been genuinely kind. Barriss hadn't been certain at first, but no, surely neither of them would lie about something like this. That would be going too far.

They'd been nice to her. Not just one person, but two, had been nice to her. Really and truly.

She stepped up onto the rickety desk, swallowing her nerves. She wished she'd known earlier in the year that singing in class meant a guaranteed A in her coursework. She enjoyed the subject, but being able to focus solely on the exam would be a weight off her mind. Letta said the rest of the class had already done their singing back in September, when Barriss was off for a day.

"Barriss?" Ms Billaba was looking at her oddly. "May I ask what you're doing?"

"Singing!" she said, her voice bright. "Or rather, I will be when I think of a song. Sorry, is there something particular I'm supposed to sing?"

Ms Billaba's eyebrows shot up. For half a second, Barriss felt a tiny stab of panic— _isn't_ _this_ _right?_ _Isn't_ _this_ _what_ _I'm_ _meant to_ _do?_ —then pushed it aside. Of course. She had to pick the song herself. Asking what to sing was like asking someone to write an essay for her. Not that she would ever do that.

A song. A song. What did she know? She didn't keep up with all the popular music like the others in her year, she only knew... hymns! Yes, that would be fine. Something nice and cheerful. ‘The Force Lives Within Us All’ would be perfect.

She opened her mouth and began to sing.

* * *

 

Kaeden was mentally kicking herself, furious that she'd ever agreed to approach Barriss, because this... this was her fault. She'd helped them set Barriss up. In front of her, Letta and Asajj were in silent stitches. The others seemed too shocked to react. Even Ms Billaba stood statue-still, her expression one of pure horror. Kaeden, for her part, was struggling for words. Would it make things worse or better, to tell Barriss to get down, stop making a fool of herself? Barriss launched into the next verse of whatever awful old thing she was singing, if what she was doing could even be called singing. The phrase 'strangled Lothcat' came to mind.

"Stop it!" she said loudly. Not loudly enough, even when she rose from her seat, shouting it again. She was drowned out by Letta and Asajj, who were now openly howling, laughing like it was funniest thing they'd ever heard. Asajj was holding something up—filming. She was filming this. And now others were joining in, whooping and cheering, and Barriss just kept on singing, hands to her ears so that she could hear herself to stay in tune. As if she'd ever been in tune in the first place.

Kaeden turned in her seat. She locked eyes with Ms Billaba, wordlessly pleading with her to do something. But the teacher _was_ trying to do something. She was shouting for everyone to shut up, and no one could hear. The only way to put an end to this was to stop Barriss, and she wasn't going to be able to do that by yelling.

So Kaeden picked up the bottle of juice on her desk and threw it.

She only meant to startle her. But—

 _The_ _lid_ _isn't_ _screwed_ _on!_ She didn't realise until it had hit Barriss, spraying her with orange liquid. The singing came to an abrupt halt as the force of the bottle hitting her caused her to overbalance, and she slipped from the desk, landing hard on the floor.

No one spoke. Barriss sat where she was, orange liquid dripping down her face. She looked wildly about the room, only now seeming to understand that people were not cheering her on, but laughing at her. Her eyes were wide, face pale as she peered around, assessing the damage.

Then Asajj, cackling like a witch, yanked her own bottle out of her bag, marched up to Barriss, and tipped the contents over her head.

Barriss let out a little cry and shrank away, but then someone else threw something. A piece of balled-up paper. No—a wad of chewing gum. Already chewed. And another, and something else, and suddenly water bottles were being splashed in her face, bits of paper and worse flicked, and no amount of admonishment from any teacher could stop this, and Barriss curled in on herself, and people were laughing more than ever, some singing in horrible, strangled voices, and—

Barriss lifted her head and began to scream.

The noise of the others died away as she scrabbled backwards over the thin carpet until she was up against the wall. She kept screaming, the sound high and thin and ugly, as she covered her face with her hands, breaking point reached at last, and suddenly it hit Kaeden that Barriss _did_ mind. She always had done. She'd minded when someone hid her clothes when she was in the shower after PE. She'd tried to joke about it with the others while they aimed the jokes at her, but she'd minded. She'd minded when someone had put some kind of spice in her food one day at lunch and she'd cried because it burnt her mouth and throat so badly. She'd minded when she'd been 'accidentally' pushed into a puddle and had to walk around covered in mud all day, when someone had shoved obscene magazines into her locker and they'd all spilled out in front of everyone when she opened it, and when someone had put the most enormous spider in her bag, and that week when everyone—mostly Asajj—had repeated everything she said in a ridiculous parody of her voice, and when someone had dabbed red paint on the back of her skirt and let her go around like that, oblivious, for hours, because it was just for fun, it was just Barriss, there was no harm in it, it didn't count, it was only Barriss Offee, walking target of every prank, butt of every joke.

She'd minded. Always. And now it seemed she would never stop screaming.

 _Oh_ , Kaeden thought, ashamed of her own sense of surprise, _she's_ _a_ _real_ _person_ _after_ _all_.

Barriss only got louder. The scream was growing ragged and torn, like her voice was falling apart. Above her, a light exploded. Several students yelped, and one or two flinched. Kaeden just stared. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Ms Billaba approaching cautiously. Then another light burst. And then another. Had a fuse blown or something?

Then, as if on cue, the fire alarm sounded—another drill, a week after the last? _That's kind of weird. Maybe someone set it off deliberately?_ —and the whole class scrambled for the door, Kaeden with them, leaving Barriss alone as Ms Billaba tried in vain to calm her down.

The wail was still audible at the other end of the corridor.

* * *

 

That night, as Barriss lay in bed, she wondered what the point was. She always tried her best, both at school and at home, but her best wasn't good enough. It never had been.

She curled up on her side, drawing her knees up to her chin. If she woke up in the morning and school had become an entirely academic place, with everyone working non-stop all day, no time to talk, everything would be fine. She'd like that. She was a hard worker, perhaps an obsessive one, and her grades were a testament to that. It was the social side of school she couldn't stand, that wild landscape where the strong hunted in packs and preyed on the weak. When she was five, she'd shown up on her first day, eager to make friends, and gone home at ten past three in tears. They'd laughed at her. They'd smirked at the overly formal way she'd introduced herself and nudged each other and grinned when she'd chosen to sit and read a book at playtime. Perhaps they'd have let it go if she hadn't opened her mouth about the Force. But she had, so now she was _nerd_ and _freak_ and _religious_ _weirdo_.

It had started when she was five and carried on for thirteen years. She had been a fool to think things would or could ever improve. Her classmates would never change.

Her mother had, of course, been sympathetic when Barriss told her of what would forever be lodged in her memory as the Singing Incident, but she hadn't been shocked. It was nothing new. Barriss couldn't explain why this time seemed worse than previous Incidents-with-a-capital-I.

Her mother had not hugged her when she heard what had happened. Hugging was not a regular occurrence in the Unduli-Offee household. Instead, she'd placed a gentle hand on Barriss' shoulder and suggested that she pray to the Force for guidance.

When Barriss was adopted at the age of three, she'd had very little understanding of the Force, so the idea of sharing her new mother's religious beliefs had been interesting to her. Maybe she'd feel differently now. Then she froze, and whispered to the Force that she was sorry. That kind of thinking was blasphemy.

She'd grown up learning about the Light Side and the Dark. The Force had a plan for everyone, Luminara—Barriss had never called her 'Mother' to her face, not once—had said. It shaped the lives of every being in the galaxy. If that was the case, Barriss had once wondered aloud, if everything was predetermined, what was the point in praying, or trying to live as a good person? Luminara had simply looked at her until Barriss lowered her eyes and mumbled something about how she'd been foolish to ask that, that she couldn't possibly hope to understand the intentions of the Force.

Whatever the reason for it was, Luminara had raised Barriss to follow the path of the Light Side. That meant accepting that all was as the Force willed it, and if school was difficult, that meant Force wanted her to suffer. So the constant torment was a good thing. Temple Lane High was crawling with servants of the Dark Side. Barriss had to walk among them each day and be a beacon of Light. That was the purpose the Force had set out for her. To shy away from it would be to risk her very soul. And she must never wish harm on her classmates for the things they did. Punishment was for the Force to mete out, not her.

But...

_They seemed so nice, they seemed like they were helping, especially Letta. Let the Force punish her first. Let the Force let me punish her. Imagine killing her, imagine her begging for help as the light goes out of her eyes. That would be good._

Oh. That was wrong. That was violent. The Force surely wouldn't approve of Barriss thinking that. Her mother certainly wouldn't.

_But what if the Force chose me? What if it touched me and whispered for me to kill in its name? I could be the Light Side's weapon, and I could make them all stop forever. Think about something horrible happening to Asajj Ventress, imagine her looking at me with fear in her eyes. Imagine them all being so very afraid of me._

This was getting ridiculous. The Force obviously liked to hurt Barriss. It would never hand her revenge on a plate. She turned over, pulling her duvet up to her chin. Besides, the Light Side didn't choose people to do things like that. Only the Dark Side. In all the old stories, the Dark Side would lay a hand on some people and mark them out as 'Force-sensitive.' A Force-sensitive could do many things a normal person could not, Luminara had told her, but the power had its roots deep in evil. Every time it was used, the evil grew stronger. With every mind read, every object moved without being touched, the Force-sensitive grew more and more twisted until they were nothing but an empty shell, possessed by the Dark.

_Maybe I wouldn't mind if it would make them stop._

No! She would mind. The Dark Side was bad, and she needed to stay in the—

_Light?_

Every light in her room, from the little bedside lamp to the dangling bulb overhead, had come on.

And Barriss hadn't moved.

She lay very still, wondering if there was some kind of problem with the house's electricity. She waited, but nothing else happened.

It was like at school, when she'd been screaming, and in her head she'd been thinking that her life must be touched by the Dark Side, it was so miserable, and suddenly all the lights had burst. She'd been thinking of the dark, and the lights had gone out.

And when she'd wished that everyone would leave her alone, the fire alarm had gone off.

What if—?

_Don't be silly._

And yet...

She stared up at the lightbulb and thought, very clearly, _Switch_ _off_.

The bulb flickered, just the tiniest bit. But it stayed on. There! She was imagining things after all. Part of her wanted to laugh. How funny! She wasn't Force-sensitive, and good thing too. She allowed herself a slight smile at her pathetic little experiment. She might as well have told her clothes to fold themselves, or asked the window to open.

And that was when the window flew wide open and the rain came driving in.

 

* * *

 

The next morning, Barriss was not in Galactic History. Kaeden looked to where she usually sat by the window, but the seat was vacant. The absence made her uneasy. Then again, she wouldn't have wanted to show her face either, if what had happened to Barriss had happened to her.

Still. She didn't live all that far from Barriss. Maybe she should call round later, make sure she was okay.

She wasn't the only one who'd noticed Barriss' non-appearance. Letta and Asajj were sitting together again, whispering, occasionally pointing at the empty desk. Letta seemed on-edge. Asajj looked like she couldn't care less.

The door slammed open. The entire class froze as Depa Billaba walked in, her eyes like ice.

"As you may have noticed," she said quietly, her voice sending a shiver down Kaeden's spine, "one of your classmates is missing today. I am sure you all know who. And I am sure you all know why."

Her gaze swept the room. "What you did to that girl was truly awful. You are all incredibly lucky that your references for university have already been written, because I would revoke them if I could."

"It was only Barriss," Asajj muttered. Her voice was low, but apparently not so low that Ms Billaba couldn't hear.

"Really, Asajj? _Only_ Barriss? Then I am sure you will be pleased to hear that this class' punishment is _only_ having to apologise to Barriss when she comes back. Sincerely. Oh, and a ban from the prom next week."

"Wait, what?!" Kaeden hadn't meant to say that. But she and Ahsoka had been planning to go together. They were heading to different universities after the summer and likely wouldn't see each other again for months. They'd wanted to do something special together before high school was over...

"I'm sure you understood me perfectly," said Ms Billaba. "Do you think it is unfair, Kaeden?"

 _Yes_. "No—well, kind of—"

"You do? Because I seem to recall that you threw the first bottle."

"No, it wasn't..." But she had. _It wasn't like that._ But, Kaeden realised, no one else would have known her intention. Barriss certainly hadn't. She must have thought—oh, no. _I didn't—I wasn't trying to hurt her—but_ _she_ _must_ _have_ _thought—_

"I don't think it's unfair," she said softly. Letta and Asajj turned to glare at her, but she ignored them.

"Good." Ms Billaba looked around. "Does anyone else have any objections?" Letta and Asajj looked mutinous, but wisely kept their mouths shut. "Excellent. Now," she went on in a completely different tone, "thinking back to last week's lesson, is there anyone here who can explain to me why—"

Kaeden tuned her out. She was still horrified at her revelation from a few moments ago. Barriss had thought she was trying to humiliate her. It wasn't about what Kaeden had intended, but what she'd done, and she needed to make it up to her properly.

* * *

 

"You want me to _what?_ "

It was a little after eight o' clock on Tuesday night. Kaeden and Ahsoka were curled up together on the big, springy sofa at Ahsoka's house, and Ahsoka was looking at her like she'd just suggested cartwheeling naked down the street.

Kaeden shifted closer, turning to face Ahsoka properly. "Since I can't go, I want you to ask Barriss Offee to the prom."

The film they'd been watching continued to play in the background. Aside from that, the house was quiet. Ahsoka's family weren't around. Her brother had recently moved in with his girlfriend, so the general noise level had dropped by volumes, and her father was apparently at the library, which meant she and Kaeden would have the place to themselves for a good few hours. They didn't go round Kaeden's house very much, because Miara was forever asking stuff like, "When's the wedding?" That, or giving Ahsoka the if-you-hurt-my-sister-I-will-personally-make-your-sure-your-life-is-not-worth-living talk. Kaeden had plans to take revenge when Miara started dating someone.

Right now, though, she wished Miara _was_ around to break the silence. It was getting a little unnerving.

"I'm... not saying no," Ahsoka said at last. She slipped an arm around Kaeden's shoulders. "I just think you should think about why you want me to ask." She looked at her, blue eyes wide and earnest. "People aren't very nice to Barriss. I know that. And I think she deserves to be happy for once. But do you really have anything to make up for?"

"Yeah, I do." Kaeden was adamant. "I just keep seeing it from her perspective, Ahsoka." She stretched her legs out across the sofa. "She probably sees it that I was part of the whole plan to make her embarrass herself like that."

"But you weren't," Ahsoka reminded her. "I know you threw that bottle at her, but that wasn't malicious."

"No, but it must've seemed like it." Kaeden sighed, tugging the sleeves of her jumper down over her hands. "People are always saying... They say they pity Barriss. But they join in with the tricks and everything all the time. And none of them ever try to make things easier for her. It isn't right."

"No, it isn't," Ahsoka agreed. "But will this help? If I were Barriss, I don't think I'd want to be seen right now. Besides," she added, frowning, "why would she say yes?"

Kaeden stared. "Uh... because it's _you?_ " Everyone liked Ahsoka. Half the school had a crush on her, but she hadn't dated anyone until Kaeden, who'd practically fainted the first time Ahsoka looked in her direction. Ahsoka was _that_ girl, captain of all the sports teams, light years ahead of her classmates in most subjects, yet never stuck-up about it. She was warm, grounded and kind. She was one of those people you couldn't help but adore. At least, Kaeden thought so.

"I really think she'd turn me down, Kaeden," Ahsoka told her, shifting nearer. One of her lekku brushed against Kaeden's face. "And I think you might be overestimating my popularity just a little."

Kaeden snorted. "Hardly." That was the other thing. Ahsoka didn't have much idea just how people thought of her.

The white markings above Ahsoka's eyes drew together. "Listen, I'll ask her if you really want me to. I think it would be nice for her to be part of things for a change. But are you sure? Because we could just stay here." She put her hands on either side of Kaeden's face. "If I can't go with you, I'd rather not go at all."

"Ask her," Kaeden insisted. "Just ask her as a friend. If you don't, word'll get around that I'm not going and someone else might try to ask you." She smirked. "Hey, you could end up going to the prom with Lux Bonteri!" Lux was harmless, really, but it was kind of hilarious, seeing him trail after Ahsoka like a lost puppy.

Ahsoka shuddered. "Ugh. Okay, you make a good point. I have a class with Barriss tomorrow. If she's in school, I'll do my best. But if she says no, that's the end of it. It wouldn't be fair to pressure her."

"She'll say yes." Of that, Kaeden was confident. Ahsoka tilted her head.

"I guess she might. Anyway, changing the subject a little..." She pulled Kaeden closer and kissed her, and all thoughts of Barriss were forgotten.

* * *

 

Several streets away, Barriss was sitting on her bedroom floor, batting away the thoughts of the Dark Side swirling in her head as she raised a hand to the hairbrush she'd placed in front of her.

 _Move_.

The hairbrush stayed where it was.

_No, not like that. Don't try, just do it._

She moved her hand again and the brush rose several inches.

She'd been experimenting since last night. After the window had opened, she'd panicked, fear that the Dark had marked her taking hold, and she'd wished for it to stop, for the window to shut and the lights to go out. And just like that, they had.

After that, the signs seemed too obvious to ignore. So she'd gotten out of bed, found something to practice with, and kept practicing.

The power frightened her. Luminara had always said such abilities were evil. And this... thing... had been sprung upon her without warning.

But the Force had a plan for everyone. Why would it make her evil? Perhaps... perhaps it was a gift, not a curse. For the first time in her life, Barriss felt like something special. The Force, after almost two decades of taking, had suddenly given.

That morning, she'd feigned a headache, and Luminara had allowed her to stay home from school. Barriss was relieved. Mostly, she'd wanted to test out her new-found talents, but that wasn't all. She didn't think she could bear to walk into Galactic History and sit with those people again, acting like nothing had happened. It was just the latest in a series of horrible tricks, but Barriss felt like she'd finally reached her limit. She swore she'd never trust any of them again. Even the ones who'd seemed okay. Kaeden Larte had never been mean before, but now Barriss thought she was among the worst of them all. Barriss bent over backwards to be like the rest, and all they ever did was tear her apart.

The brush clattered to the ground. Her jaw clenched. Sweat was beading on her brow.

 _Go again_.

This time, the brush lifted up past her head. It might have stayed there, had she not started and dropped it and the sound of the front door opening.

"Barriss?" Luminara's voice floated up the stairs. "Where are you?"

"Here!" she called back, shoving the brush under the bed, though there was no evidence that anything unusual had happened to it. She hurried out of the room and went downstairs to greet her mother.

Luminara deposited several shopping bags in the kitchen before turning to her daughter. "Are you feeling any better?"

"Sorry?" Oh, of course. The lie she'd told that morning. "Um, yes, thank you. I—I'll be back at school tomorrow." Damn. She shouldn't have said that. Now she'd have to go whether she wanted to or not.

Luminara peered at her, frowning. "You look very pale."

"I, um..." Barriss was more than aware of what she looked like. The power did strange things to her when she used it. Her heart sped up, and everything felt very cold. It had gotten easier as the day went on, but there was still room for improvement. When she used it to move bigger things, the effect became more pronounced. "I've been trying to catch up on the lessons I've missed. I... suppose I've been working very hard." She tried to make eye contact, hoping she wouldn't be caught in the outright lie.

Luminara smiled. "Very good." She reached out and touched her fingertips to Barriss' tattoos. "Did you pray to the Force last night, like I told you to?"

"Yes. And this morning." Another lie. Barriss thought she ought to start keeping a tally.

"Good. It's important to pray, Barriss. You know that, don't you?"

_I know no one else's mother holds them at arm's length and goes on about the Force. I know no one else is afraid to address their mother as 'Mum' because she had a dream once where the Light Side told her to remain unattached to her only child or the Dark Side would get them both._

"I know."

"Because there is a lot of evil in the galaxy, Barriss. The Dark Side covers this planet like a stain."

"But isn't that because the Force wishes it to?" The moment the question passed Barriss' lips, she froze. She shouldn't have said that. She shouldn't. Luminara's expression flickered. For a moment, it looked like she was going to draw her hand away from Barriss' face, but instead, she dug her nails into her cheek. Not hard enough to bleed. But hard enough to hurt.

"Don't blaspheme," she said mildly. She held on a moment, until Barriss' eyes began to water, then let her go.

"I'm sorry," Barriss whispered. Her cheek stung. Luminara nodded.

"Of course," she said brightly. "Now, how has your day been?"

And so Barriss told her, editing herself as she went, and if there'd ever been any hope of telling her mother about her Force-sensitivity, it had already shrivelled up and died.

* * *

 

At the same time, not too far away, Asajj and Letta were leaning against a wall, looking for all the world like stereotypical teenage criminals. The sort of people who were probably in a gang, who went round mugging the elderly and made a hobby out of scaring small children. Anyone passing by gave them a wide berth.

"I am _not_ apologising to kriffing Barriss Offee," Letta declared, folding her arms. She pulled her thin jacket tighter around her to ward off the chilly night air.

"If you ask me, she deserves everything we do," Asajj said. She put on a whiny, high-pitched voice that might have been passable as Barriss, had it not been for the bitter undertones. "The Dark Side is coming to get you! And you! And everyone but me!"

"Someone ought to get her." Letta's voice was low. "Get her where it hurts. Make her scared to ever show her ugly face in public again."

Asajj considered. Letta was right, but figuring out how to 'get' someone like Barriss was difficult. She'd already been put through every form of torture Asajj could devise. Like the singing thing. That had been truly inspired. But there had to be something that could top it, and if there was, Asajj Ventress was the one person sure to discover it.

* * *

 

Ahsoka meant to approach Barriss after second-period Physics, but Barriss was out the door and gone as soon as the bell went. She eventually caught up with her during a free period in the afternoon, tracking her down in a secluded corner of the common room, where she sat at a cracked table that no one else was going anywhere near. Ahsoka hadn't even known she and Barriss had any frees together, but there she was, plugged into her headphones and buried in homework. Ahsoka stood behind her, wondering how to get her attention. She'd never had to worry about someone trying to talk to her while she had headphones in, on account of not having ears to put them in, but still, she knew that they generally meant _go_ _away_.

So she hovered awkwardly, waiting, until at last, Barriss noticed she wasn't alone and looked up, pausing her music.

"Hello?" She didn't sound hostile, but certainly cautious. Ahsoka swallowed. She hadn't expected to feel nervous.

 _Go on. Do it for Kaeden._ "Uh, hi. I was wondering if I could ask you something."

Barriss, hardly seeming aware of what she was doing, began to gather up her things, as if preparing to make a run for it.

"Yes?" Her eyes were hard and unreadable.

"Will you..." _Spit it out, Ahsoka._ "Will you go to the prom with me?"

"Don't." Barriss' voice dropped to a snarl and her jaw clenched. Ahsoka stared. "Do you think you're the first person ever to ask me out for a joke? Well, you're not! I'm used to it! You people are all the same!"

"Hey!" Ahsoka held up both hands. "I'm not sure what you mean by 'you people,' but I promise this isn't a joke." _Kaeden, I told you this was a bad idea._

"Don't be absurd!" Barriss snapped. "Why—why would you—this is in very poor taste, you know." Her eyes narrowed to slits. "And besides, I know you're going with your girlfriend. Did she put you up to this? Wasn't what happened on Monday enough?"

"No." Ahsoka shook her head. "Well, yes. Wait, don't go! Let me explain." Barriss reluctantly sat back down. "Kaeden put me up to it. But it's not like you think. Didn't you hear? She's not going."

Barriss frowned. "Why not?"

"No one who was in that class on Monday is allowed. Kaeden wants to make up for what happened, so she asked me to ask you."

Barriss looked hesitant, like she wanted to believe it but couldn't quite bring herself to. "This isn't another trick?"

"No!" Ahsoka shook her head frantically. "I wouldn't do that. And I wouldn't hang around with people who do."

"What about Kaeden? She—"

"It's not what it looked like. She wasn't trying to—" Ahsoka broke off with a sigh. She had a feeling her attempts at an explanation wouldn't be well received. "The point is, she wants to make things right."

"So you don't really want to go with me, then." Barriss' gaze had dropped to the desk, but Ahsoka didn't think she'd imagined the brief flash of hope in her eyes. It was enough to tell her to keep going.

"Yes, I do." And maybe she did, a bit. She didn't know Barriss, but... she seemed like she might be okay to talk to. Maybe they could even have been friends, had Barriss not been... Barriss.

 _That's not fair,_ she admonished herself. _There's no reason you can't be friends anyway. Why should you care what people think of her, or of you?_

"Listen," she said, "I have to get to class in a minute. But will you go with me?"

"My mother wouldn't approve," Barriss muttered. "That sort of thing... I expect the Dark Side will be very strong there." That wasn't a no, though.

"I mean... does she have to know?" Ahsoka asked. She was an expert on sneaking out. It was an art Anakin had perfected, and then taught to Ahsoka.

Barriss nodded morosely. "She'll find out," she mumbled. "She finds everything out." Something like panic flashed across her face. She seemed to be thinking of something else.

"Barriss?"

"Yes!" Barriss struggled to control her expression. Her voice came out as a squeak. "Yes, I'll go with you!"

"Oh." That was easier than expected. "O-okay! Great! And don't worry about your mother. Tell her you'll be back by—by midnight." The bell was about to ring. Ahsoka knew she should get going. She hoisted her bag onto her shoulder. "Barriss?"

"Yes?"

"It really isn't a joke." She smiled. "And it's going to be fun."

"If you say so."

Ahsoka nodded once, then turned to go. She'd taken a few steps when Barriss called out to her.

"Ahsoka?"

She paused, then turned. "Uh-huh?"

"I... That is to say..." Barriss bit her lip, then looked up at Ahsoka. "Thank you?"

Ahsoka grinned. "Thank _you_. See you later!" She could feel Barriss watching her as she went, and wondered, for the first time, if Kaeden had been onto something with this plan.

* * *

 

All she had to do was tell her. All she had to do was look Luminara in the eye and say that she was going out next Friday.

That, however, was easier said than done.

Barriss stood in the living room doorway, unwilling to go in. She glanced at her shoes, carefully placed under the stairs. With a twist of her hand, they shifted a metre to the left, then back again. It was scary, how easy it had gotten in just two days.

She could still hear her heart thudding whenever she moved something.

_Deep breaths. Now go._

She stepped into the room. Luminara heard the floorboards creak and turned her head.

"Barriss," she said, putting her book down. "What can I do for you?"

_You can stop asking questions like that, like I'm some acquaintance you met last week, and start talking like a proper parent._

"I... I wanted to talk to you." Barriss inhaled, then made herself move over to the sofa and sit down. Luminara smiled, which only served to worry Barriss more. Her mother wasn't particularly given to smiling.

"What is it?"

Barriss clenched her fists in her lap. Her knuckles went white. "D-do you know Ahsoka? In my year at school?"

Luminara frowned, considering. "I know _of_ her. I knew her family, quite some time ago, though I've never met her. Why do you ask?"

"I..." Barriss looked at the floor. "I was..."

Luminara drummed her fingers on the arm of the sofa. "Out with it, Barriss."

"She's—she's asked me to the prom next Friday, and I've accepted," Barriss said, all in a rush. She clutched at the fabric of her skirt so tightly that her fingers went numb, and she waited, and waited, but Luminara didn't say a word. Before the terror could grip her too tightly, Barriss forced herself to look up.

Her mother's expression was dead.

"No," she said quietly. Too quietly.

"But—"

"No, Barriss." Her eyes had gone very cold. "It's bad enough that you go to that school every day, with all those non-believers, but this—"

"But Ahsoka says she'll see to it that I'm home by midnight, and she seems very nice, she wouldn't—"

"I said _no._ "

"And I said _yes!_ " Barriss gasped, clapping a hand to her mouth. She'd never shouted at her mother before, never ever, and _oh no, oh no, what's going to happen, I should never have done that, I should've told Ahsoka no, I'm so scared, I'm so scared._

Luminara's eyes narrowed. Barriss saw her own face reflected in them, noticing for the first time how alike she and her mother were, though they didn't share a drop of blood. Same style of clothing. Same dark blue eyes that seemed to know too much. Then Luminara grabbed her by the wrist and wrenched her to her feet, and all the breath was gone from Barriss' lungs. Her mother had never hit her before, but there was a first time for everything, and Barriss didn't know what to do. All her instincts were screaming for her to fight, survive, protect— _protect yourself!_

So she did.

She wasn't sure how or when it happened, but somehow, Luminara was on the other side of the room. Barriss heard the dull thud of her head against the wall. And when she looked down, she saw her hand was outstretched, fingers splayed.

"I said yes," she repeated. Her voice was shaky, but it held. Her hand looked shaky, too. "And I'm going. You can't stop me."

Luminara shook her head pityingly. The expression was so unexpected it made Barriss shiver.

"I thought we'd dealt with that," was all she said.

Barriss flicked her gaze from her hand to her mother. "Dealt with what?" Luminara took a step closer, but Barriss pushed her hand out again. "No! You stay there and tell me!"

Luminara backed away. "Don't you remember?"

Remember. Remember. Barriss looked at her hand again.

And it all came flooding back.

* * *

 

_She is three years old and has lived here for just two months. Her memory of the before time, of living with another family, is fragmented. There are only flashes, glimpses. A woman who looks a lot like her, making things move without touching them, answering questions never voiced. Then she is gone._

_Barriss is three years old and learning that she can do the same thing._

_Her new mother says this is the Dark Side. She says she loves Barriss. She says she is sorry._

_Barriss is locked in a cupboard, in the dark, terrified, for up to a day at a time. She has no food and no water, and it is too hot. Every time she uses the power, the one that makes her heart beat like a drum and steals her breath, she is placed in here. Not thrown or pushed, just... placed, guided gently._

_And she starts to... change. The power changes. She understands that she has to let it go, for her own sake, or she'll be left to cry in the dark for hours. She is tired of pounding on the the cupboard door and yelling until her voice packs in, and of her wrist being gripped so hard the bones almost shatter when she tries to resist. She cannot test her power's limits anymore, cannot let it grow._

_It locks itself away. It's buried deep down, and with time, Barriss forgets._

_Until she doesn't._

* * *

 

"You," she breathed. "You made me forget. You hurt me—"

"I barely touched you."

"—until I forgot."

"I did what was best," Luminara replied softly. "I tried to keep you safe from the Dark Side. I did what I thought was right."

"Liar!" Barriss shoved her up against the wall again. Luminara didn't flinch. Her lips twisted into a half smile.

"Yes, alright, Barriss. I am lying. When I saw what you could do, how the Dark Side had touched you, I thought the best thing to do would be to kill you. But you took the knife and it flew across the room." Yes, yes, Barriss recalled, and she remembered the fearful look in Luminara's eyes. The knife had been put away. It had never been back in this small room again.

"You didn't kill me then," Barriss hissed. She did not lower her hand, though the effort of keeping her mother pinned was starting to make her feel lightheaded. "You won't do it now. I won't let you. And by the way," she added as she began to back out of the room, "I'm going to the prom. With Ahsoka. You can't stop me doing that, or anything, ever again!" It was true. Luminara was frightened of this. Barriss could use it to her advantage, do whatever she wanted. Her mother couldn't stop her anymore. She kept her hand up until she was out the room, then lowered it and ran for the door. She would go out for a walk, she decided, and come back when she was ready. Not when her mother decided she should, and not because 'only those corrupted by the Dark' stayed out after the curfew she had set.

* * *

 

_ Message Log _

**Asajj, 9:23 p.m.**

I take it you're aware?

**Letta, 9:27 p.m.**

Of what?

**Asajj, 9:28 p.m.**

That pathetic drip from history has told her little girlfriend to ask Miss Holier-Than-Thou to the prom.

**Letta, 9:28 p.m.**

Are you talking about Ahsoka?

**Asajj, 9:29 p.m.**

Obviously.

**Letta, 9:30 p.m.**

Ahsoka. And Barriss?

**Asajj, 9:32 p.m.**

And here I was thinking you could read. My mistake.

**Letta, 9:33 p.m.**

Shut up.

**Letta, 9:34 p.m.**

So... we're banned, but the girl who runs around saying the Force has it in for everyone but her and her mother can go. Who even wants that little nobody around, anyway?

**Asajj, 9:35 p.m.**

Ahsoka, apparently.

**Letta, 9:36 p.m.**

You're not funny.

**Letta, 9:37 p.m.**

Listen. No one wants Barriss getting ideas above her station. I'm just saying, she needs a shock, put her back in her place.

**Asajj, 9:38 p.m.**

...What are you suggesting?

**Letta, 9:39 p.m.**

What are YOU suggesting?

**Asajj, 9:40 p.m.**

Think for yourself for once.

**Asajj, 9:41 p.m.**

If you can handle that responsibility.

**Letta, 10:33 p.m.**

Do you still have that video from Monday?

* * *

 

Ahsoka turned over in bed so that she and Kaeden were nose to nose. Kaeden didn't stay over on a school night very often, so they were making the most of it. Kaeden watched her for a while, feeling like the luckiest person alive. She'd had a couple of girlfriends before Ahsoka, but she'd never felt like this about them.

Like she might be in love.

Ahsoka leaned in, kissing her very briefly, before closing her eyes. Kaeden snuggled closer, resting her head on Ahsoka's shoulder. After a few moments of quiet, she whispered, "Hey. Thank you."

"For what?" Ahsoka sounded half-asleep. Kaeden took hold of the thin covers and pulled them up further.

"Asking Barriss. I knew she'd say yes."

Ahsoka yawned, stretching. "Honestly? I'm sort of worried."

Kaeden propped herself up on one elbow. "What about?"

Ahsoka rubbed her eyes. "All of it. This whole Barriss thing." She looked at Kaeden, properly awake now. "Do you know anything about her? Her life?" Kaeden shook her head. No one knew Barriss, not like that. I should have made more of an effort with her. We all should. "It's just," Ahsoka went on, "she told me her mother wouldn't approve of her going." She shifted slightly. "Seriously? It's weird. Whose parents don't approve of going to prom? There are going to be teachers there."

"It's fun," Kaeden mused, "but it's... not exactly a wild party." A thought occurred to her. "There's that afterparty thing the next night. Do you think Barriss would want to go with us?"

"Probably not." Ahsoka lay back, slipping her hand into Kaeden's. "But we can ask."

Kaeden frowned up at the ceiling. "Are we friends with her now?" She felt Ahsoka shrug.

"We're about as close as she has. But Kaeden, she... doesn't like you very much."

Kaeden sighed. "I'll explain things to her when I can. Properly."

Ahsoka said nothing. When Kaeden looked at her, she saw she'd fallen asleep. Kaeden smiled.

"Goodnight, then."

Light and noise from the traffic outside slipped under the curtains, and Kaeden lay awake in the dark for a long time, counting cobwebs and wondering what the next few days would bring.

* * *

 

  
Barriss bought her dress on Saturday, but put off trying it on until Friday evening, after school. She knew that she was leaving things a bit late, and if it didn't fit she'd have nothing to wear. Maybe, secretly, that was what she was hoping for. She could turn Ahsoka away at the front door and forget the whole thing had ever happened.

But... no. She was going. For one night, she was going to be normal. She paused, then smiled ruefully. As normal as a Force-sensitive could be, anyway.

She'd spent the week researching the phenomenon, and been surprised at what she'd uncovered. Most people didn't say Force-sensitive, they said psychic, and while the scientific community regarded the idea with no small measure of scepticism, Barriss had managed to dig out some evidence that there were others like her. It was mostly hearsay, but it was better than nothing. Rumours of a human boy on Alderaan who made objects fly around the house when he was upset or happy or feeling any strong emotion. Whispers of a Twi'lek on Ryloth who heard things before people could even say them to her. A pair of siblings from an isolated village on Tatooine who could set things on fire with their minds. With every word she read, Barriss grew more frightened, yet more hopeful. She was not alone in the universe.

She picked up her dress from where it lay, folded, on the small wooden chair in her bedroom. The fabric felt light and floaty in her hands. Taking care not to crease it, she shook it out, then raised her arms and slipped it over her head.

Studying her reflection in the bedroom mirror, she supposed the dress would be a little plain by the standards of the others. But she thought it suited her. It was all one colour, the same soft pinkish-purple from the neck to the hem. The skirt, which hugged her waist, fell to her mid-shin. Old-fashioned? Conservative? Possibly. But she didn't want to look like anyone but herself, and she'd never worn a short skirt in her life. To be on the safe side, she'd stitched some pale pink lace onto the hem, giving the skirt an extra half-inch. The neckline was ever-so-slightly lower than she was used to, and she was almost tempted to run and get a cardigan, but she pushed the urge aside. _You are wearing long sleeves. Put anything on top and you'll be too warm._ There was no one stopping her from wearing what she wanted. Least of all her mother.

Luminara was downstairs. And what was more, she would be _staying_ downstairs, in the living room, unless Barriss said otherwise. She could sense her movements. It was easy to direct a thought through the floor and keep her in place.

The doorbell rang, and Barriss started. She looked at herself in the mirror again. Was everything okay? Was she presentable? She wasn't wearing makeup because she didn't own any, and now found herself wishing she could have found some for tonight. Well, nothing she could do about that now. She slid her bare feet into a pair of white flats—no heels for her, thank you very much—pulled off her old, cloth headband and ran a brush through her hair one last time. She wished her hair were longer. Maybe it would be prettier, long. She took her new headband from her bedside table. It still covered half her head, but it matched her dress.

One final check in the mirror.

Then she descended the stairs and did not look back.

* * *

 

Ahsoka stood on the doorstep, smoothing down her short, red dress and shifting from foot to foot, feeling the early-evening sun prickling the back of her head. She was starting to regret this. Maybe Barriss had changed her mind. How long was too long to wait outside someone's house? She was pretty sure people called the police on teenagers who loitered on doorsteps.

Then she heard voices coming from the other side of the door. One of them—Barriss' mother, she guessed—was speaking very softly. Ahsoka couldn't make out any words, but she seemed to be persuading, reasoning. Then came a firm 'No!' from Barriss, and the door was flung open.

Ahsoka had heard a lot of words used to describe Barriss Offee, but 'pretty' had never been one of them. Until now. Barriss didn't exactly look any different—well, she was dressed differently, but aside from that, she looked like Barriss. Only, there was something new, a determination that had never been there before. For the first time since Ahsoka had met her, she looked truly alive.

"Ready?" Ahsoka asked, realising that she was grinning. Barriss nodded wordlessly, and Ahsoka held her arm out. Barriss slipped her own through it, and together they set off around the corner to the school.

 _Say something nice!_ Kaeden's voice hissed in her mind. _Compliment her! She's probably really nervous!_ No, wait a second, that wasn't Kaeden. That was Miara. Her advice was generally unasked for, but always good.

"Barriss?" Ahsoka asked after a minute.

"Yes?"

"You look lovely."

Barriss blushed.

* * *

 

The school hall was crowded. Noisy. No one noticed Letta as she slipped in amid a clump of students, allowing the music and the heat and the darkness to cover her. She was dressed in black in the hope that it would cover her as she slipped through the masses and round the back of the stage, where the projector was plugged in. She plucked her phone charger from her bag and connected it up, then found the video she was looking for. Asajj had sent it to her yesterday.

She selected the video. She checked the time. Twenty to eight. And then she set it to play in forty minutes and crept away into the night.

* * *

 

Sitting alone at the table, Luminara held the knife carefully and knew, at last, what had to be done. The Force would guide her hand. She'd failed once, when Barriss was a child. She'd allowed herself to be intimidated by the power. Never again.

She only hoped Barriss understood. The girl was in the grip of the Dark Side. If there was any other way... but there wasn't. Even all those years ago, it had been the only option and the last resort. Oh, she didn't _want_ to do it. But in the war against the Dark, her judgement had to be unclouded by attachment. She had to be clear-minded. Efficient.

Deadly.

She was suddenly glad of the dream she'd had all those years ago, when Barriss had lived with her for just a few weeks. The Force had warned her, she felt certain. It had told her to maintain a distance between herself and her daughter so that when the inevitable happened, it would be easier to do what she had to. Especially because, at the heart of things, she would be doing it not just out of compassion and conviction, but love.

* * *

 

Barriss almost froze at the door. This wasn't her sort of thing and she wanted to go home. She wasn't right for this, for being around people and being one of them. But Ahsoka took her hand and tugged her along, and then they were in.

"Are we late?" she asked, shouting over the music. There were an awful lot of people around. Ahsoka shook her head.

"Nope. We arrived when we wanted to." She tilted her head slightly, searching for something to say. "So. Do you want to dance?"

"Um..." Barriss was saved from having to admit she didn't know how by the arrival of a Pantoran girl she vaguely knew. Riyo? Yes, that was her name, and she was wearing something lilac-coloured and flimsy.

"Ahsoka! I didn't expect to see you. I heard you and Kaeden weren't..." Her eyes fell on Barriss and she trailed off. "Hello. Um, sorry, I'm afraid I don't know—"

Ahsoka leapt in. "Barriss, this is my friend, Riyo. Riyo, this is Barriss."

"Barriss," Riyo repeated, smiling. Then the light of recognition switched on in her eyes and the smile faltered. Barriss tensed. In the back of her mind, a voice hissed at her to run. She felt her fingers splay, then, realising what she was about to do, clenched her fist and slipped her hand behind her back. It was just as well, for Riyo's hesitation was only momentary. After a brief pause, genuine warmth coloured her expression.

"Barriss," she said again, sounding only the smallest bit confused, "you look very pretty tonight."

Barriss waited. But there was no punchline. Riyo meant it.

"You too," she replied, and managed not to squeak the words.

"Hey!" Ahsoka butted in, grinning. "Riyo, no stealing my date!"

 _Date._ Barriss knew Ahsoka didn't mean it like that. Her heart skipped a beat anyway.

Riyo laughed. "I won't, I won't!" Something caught her eye, and she glanced across the hall. "If you'll both excuse me, I see a balloon out of place."

"She's on the decoration committee," Ahsoka explained to Barriss, rolling her eyes, then looked at Riyo again. "You are such a perfectionist," she teased. Riyo shrugged.

"Someone has to be! I'll see you later," she added, vanishing into the crowd. Ahsoka waved after her, then turned back to Barriss.

"You don't need to know how to dance," she said quietly—as quietly as she could given the noise, anyway. Heat rushed to Barriss' cheeks.

"Am I really that obvious?"

"It's okay." Ahsoka took her hands. "Just follow me."

"But how—" She was cut off as Ahsoka tightened her grip, then spun them both in a circle, giggling. "Ahsoka!" she yelped. The music was definitely too slow for all that. "People will stare!"

"Probably," Ahsoka agreed, lifting a hand and twirling Barriss around. "Does it bother you?"

Barriss considered. Then, before she could lose her nerve, she caught Ahsoka's arms and pulled her closer. Ahsoka gave a little cry of surprise, then burst out laughing.

"I'm guessing that's a no?"

"It's absolutely a no."

The time was seven fifty-five.

* * *

 

Kaeden couldn't see the school from her bedroom window, couldn't see much but the traffic-filled sky, but she watched anyway, wondering if she'd done the right thing. She didn't want to make things any worse for Barriss. She knew Ahsoka, so she knew Ahsoka would look after Barriss. But—

Behind her, the door creaked.

"What are you doing?"

Kaeden turned. Miara was by the wall, already in her pyjamas. Their parents were out for the night, and Kaeden had promised her sister she'd come downstairs and watch a film with her. But that had been half an hour ago.

"I'm just thinking. I'll be with you in a minute."

Miara raised an eyebrow. "I get it. You wish you were with Ahsoka. You know," she added, "maybe you shouldn't have told her to go."

"Maybe not," Kaeden agreed. She hesitated. Then— "I don't know, it's just... Do you ever worry something's going to happen?"

"Something?" Miara prompted.

"Like, like... something bad." Kaeden shrugged. "It's probably nothing."

Miara frowned, folding her arms. "You sure?"

"Yeah, it's fine." Kaeden cast one last long look out the window, then shook the worry off. She went over to Miara, slinging an arm around her shoulders, and began to guide her out of the room. "Okay, what are we watching? No horror movies, though. Mum and Dad would kill me."

"Who said anything about telling them?" Miara asked, all wide-eyed innocence. Kaeden wasn't fooled.

"Hey, you're too young to be a bad influence."

"I'm just _saying_ —"

They continued down the stairs, light-heartedly bickering, until they were in the living room.

It was five minutes past eight.

* * *

 

Ahsoka and Barriss dropped into two of the plastic chairs that lined the wall, gasping for breath.

"Okay," Ahsoka managed to get out, "I don't know if that could be considered dancing, but was I right about it being fun?"

"Yes." Barriss swiped her forehead with the back of her hand. "Definitely! I didn't realise people here could be... nice." Riyo hadn't been the only one to make an effort, something Ahsoka was glad of. Most of her friends had never spoken to Barriss in their lives, but they'd seen her with Ahsoka, seen how uncertain she was, and they'd all engaged her in conversation at one point or another. Some were bewildered by her presence, some were uncertain, but they still tried. Most had never seen her looking happy before.

"Not everyone here's all bad." Ahsoka grinned.

Barriss took a few seconds to catch her breath, then her face grew serious. "I'm sorry."

Ahsoka didn't understand. She squinted at her. "Sorry for what?"

"It's my fault you're not here with Kaeden." Barriss stared at the floor. "If I hadn't been... well, me... she—"

"Hey, hey, no." Ahsoka reached out and put a hand on Barriss' arm. "It's not your fault. Not hers, either. She didn't know what Letta and Asajj wanted you for. But you are not the problem here. The rest of your class is."

Barriss shrugged. Her feet weren't quite touching the ground, and she swung her legs under the chair and back out again.

"Barriss," Ahsoka said, "I'm happy you're here."

And Barriss might have said something back, might have raised her head and let herself smile, and they might have gone back out onto the dance floor and spun each other around and talked to Ahsoka's friends and enjoyed the rest of the night.

But it was ten past eight, and the music cut off with a crackle as a video began to play, projected for all to see on the back wall.

* * *

 

Barriss could see herself, balancing unsteadily on the desk, singing. She hadn't known how bad she sounded. She hadn't know how incredibly odd she looked. She'd suspected, but she hadn't known. The hall had fallen silent. All Barriss could hear was her own voice, and the others on the video. Laughing. They were laughing. Everyone had always laughed, all her life.

Then the video-Barriss fell, and unseen hands were throwing whatever they could find. She saw her own eyes grow wide with terror, then understanding, and finally horror. The same horror that was now gripping her insides. She stood, trembling, unable to look away from the recording.

"Barriss—" Ahsoka reached out to her, but she snatched her hand away.

People were _laughing_. On the video. But in the room too. It was shocked, it was hollow, it was not born of humour, but it was laughter just the same.

_They've always laughed. All they've ever done is laugh._

Had this been the plan? Had Ahsoka and Kaeden conspired to get her here, humiliate her one more time, in front of everyone?

_They all laugh and laugh and never stop._

Somewhere in her heart, something broke beyond repair.

 _Stop_.

 _Stop_.

_Make it STOP._

The video crackled and died. A few people looked startled. Some stared at the wall where the video had been in confusion. Most didn't notice it wasn't playing anymore until a few seconds later.

 _Not enough. Make_ them _stop._

She caught someone's eye. Someone howling with laughter. She didn't know him, but he knew her. She was dressed differently to how she was in the video, but her face was the same. Her face would always be the same.

_Then let them remember it, let them really see it._

Her fingers curled into a fist.

_Let it be the last thing they ever see._

Whoever the boy in front of her was, he wasn't laughing anymore. He was choking. She watched without feeling as he clawed at his throat, eyes wild, face turning an alarming shade of blue. People stood, too frozen to do anything, staring in morbid fascination. His eyes were huge with fear. From far away, she could hear Ahsoka calling out to her. Somehow, _somehow_ , she must have noticed, realised that however improbable it seemed, Barriss was doing this.

"Stop! Barriss, Barriss, you're killing him! Let him go!"

Her fist curled tighter, so tight that some distant part of her feared the skin at her knuckles would burst, and the boy dropped to the ground. He lay still, eyes half-closed, and didn't so much as twitch.

She heard—no, sensed—someone making a break for the door. _I don't think so._ The door slammed shut. On the other side of the hall, someone screamed. She caught hold of them with her mind, and this time she barely had to move her hand. She felt the death, and then wondered, why stop there? They'd all laughed at her at one point or another. Or they'd stood by and let others laugh. Another death. Another.

People were panicking now, running, growing desperate. Barriss was aware of some kind of noise building in her throat, animalistic and savage and broken, but she didn't care. A flick of her fingers and the sprinklers came on, and then—

_Burn them up. Burn them all._

—she pulled every plug she could find.

Electricity met water, sparks flying. Someone—many people—were shrieking, and the air was thick with the scent of burning flesh. Barriss didn't know where Ahsoka was. Didn't care. She began to move through the crowd, killing indiscriminately. She caught someone—anyone—without touching them, slamming them into the wall. Their skull cracked, she knew it had cracked, and shards of bone were driven into their brain, and that was good. She snapped legs, arms, necks, strangled with no hands, crushed brains without damaging the skulls. She let people she'd walked among every day for years catch fire, and felt them go up in smoke.

They'd laughed. But who was laughing now?

The doors opened for her and her alone, then bolted themselves in her wake.

_Who's next?_

She paused, shivering in the cool night air, and listened to the muffled screams on the other side of the wall. It had gotten dark since she and Ahsoka had gone in. Too much traffic to see the stars, though.

Her heart was pounding in her ears. Cold sweat snaked down her neck. She wondered absently how much more of the power her body could take.

_Who's next?_

Well, that was the question, wasn't it? So... who deserved it? Who had it coming? _Everyone. The whole planet._ Barriss wasn't sure she could punish the whole planet.

_I can try._

She was so tired. She was scared. She wished she'd listened days ago, when Luminara said no.

She wanted to go home. She wanted her mother.

Slowly, staggering, she headed back the way she'd come, and those who crossed her path crashed and burned.

* * *

 

Ahsoka dived into a corner as part of the ceiling collapsed, covering her head with both hands. Rubble rained down around her, and she cried out as a ceiling tile clipped the side of her face. Fires blazed as far as the eye could see.

 _Barriss isn't here anymore._ The knowledge came to her unbidden. It did not reveal itself with a flash. It was simply... there. Like something Barriss had left behind. _Like the fact that she's killing everyone she sees._

Ahsoka flinched, but there was nothing to pull away from. It was all inside her head, but it was true, it had to be, because Barriss had—apparently unwittingly—put it there, like she was leaking psychic energy.

Psychic. That was what she was, wasn't it? Ahsoka was not ignorant of the concept. She'd just never thought it was a real thing. And yet, to look at Barriss, there was no denying it. No denying the danger of that kind of power, either.

She had to catch up with Barriss before things could get any worse. So many people were already dead. She couldn't see Riyo anywhere and could only assume the worst. And her other friends, where were they? Steela, Kalifa, Jinx, O-Mer—they'd all vanished. She couldn't see them among those who were hammering on the doors and pounding on the walls, as if that would do something, as if it would help at all.

She picked herself up off the ground and began to search for a way out, ducking as another piece of the ceiling caved in. She would not be buried alive. She scanned the hall, desperation rising, torn between wanting to get after Barriss as soon as she found an escape and staying to help evacuate. Would it be better to get everyone out, or stop Barriss before there were even more people in trouble? She didn't know. There was no reason she'd know. She'd never faced anything like this before.

Across the room—what was left of it, anyway—someone yelled something that Ahsoka didn't quite catch. But then they screamed it again, and slowly, the word came to her. _Window_. There was a broken window. Barriss might be able to lock doors, but she couldn't keep glass from cracking.

Ahsoka scrambled over the rubble, trying not to think about what was underneath. Maybe she was walking over her friends, and she might have searched for them, but deep down, she understood there would be no point. She'd seen what Barriss could do. They were gone.

A shard of glass dug into her palm as she vaulted over the window ledge. She bit down hard on her tongue to keep from shouting as she landed outside, dropping the few inches to land on both feet on the pavement. She glanced uncertainly at her hand, decided the cut wasn't so deep, then pulled the glass free. Blood welled, but she ignored it, looking about frantically. Everyone who'd made it out was already running. Running away from Barriss. They had the same sense of her, the same imprint. They knew where she was, sensed which way she was heading. She'd gone left, then right, leaving a trail of destruction in her wake. She was going home. Even without the map Barriss had managed to leave in everyone's brains, Ahsoka was familiar with the route. It went past Kaeden's house.

_Kaeden!_

Ahsoka began to run.

* * *

 

Kaeden and Miara heard Barriss before they saw her. Or rather, they heard what was happening around her. Explosions and screams and death, so much death, and anger and fear that came in great crashing waves up and down the street. They ran to the window, and Kaeden pushed back the curtains to be greeted by— _Hell. It looks like Hell._

She turned to Miara and, without knowing how she knew, said, "It's Barriss, isn't it?"

And Miara, who did not know Barriss Offee, who had never once met her, said, "Yeah."

And that was when she appeared at the end of the road, standing there like something out of a nightmare. Her dress was scorched and torn, and she was barefoot. Her face was smudged with ash and some of her hair looked singed. Blood trickled from a graze on her cheek.

She had not yet seen Kaeden and Miara. Kaeden had a feeling she knew what would happen when she did. So she grabbed her sister by the wrist and dragged her away from the window, and then they were running for the back door, Kaeden snatching up both their coats and yelling for Miara to get her shoes on _now_ , they had to leave. Miara was crying, her hands trembling as she tried to pull her coat on over her pyjamas.

"Come on, come _on!_ " Kaeden urged, before crouching and doing the zip up for her. Then she caught her hand and they bolted out the door.

"What's happening?" Miara gasped. Kaeden pulled her around corners and down alleyways, as far from the chaos as they could get.

"I don't know." But Kaeden was lying, because she did know. _Barriss_ was happening. She didn't know how, or why, but it was Barriss.

"Where are—" _Where are our parents?_ That was what Miara meant, but she couldn't get the words out. Kaeden shook her head.

"I'm sure they're fine." They were miles away right now. They'd be alright. It was Ahsoka she was worried about. She'd gone with Barriss earlier that night, and now Barriss was alone. Kaeden and Miara dived down a backstreet, and Kaeden pulled out her phone with her free hand, fumbling for the right number. She pressed it, hit the speaker button and listened, and when there was no answer she tried again, and again. Nothing. She had to find her. Yes, she was going to get Miara somewhere safe, and then she would find Ahsoka.

* * *

 

For Letta and Asajj, the end had been quick. Barriss had sensed them lurking not too far from the school. She wished she'd dragged it out. She would have liked to have seen them cry. Instead, she broke their necks with a flick of her hand and carried on.

She had no idea that she looked like something that had died weeks ago, pale and dirty and weaving from side to side as she walked, clothes torn. She looked like she'd just dug herself out of her own grave, wronged in life and back to wreak revenge.

It wouldn't have mattered to her if she had known. She was nearly home.

* * *

 

Kaeden hammered on the door, still holding Miara's wrist in a death-grip with one hand. She didn't even know if this was the right flat, but maybe that wasn't important, as long as someone was there to point her in the right direction.

The door flew open, revealing Anakin and Padmé, who had both come to see what all the noise was. Kaeden had only met them a few times, but she knew she could trust them, and that was good enough.

"Kaeden?" Anakin stared at her. "What—why are you—"

"There's no time," she gasped, pushing Miara in front of her. "I have to find Ahsoka. Please, please look after my sister. It won't be safe for her out there. And if I don't come back, tell my parents what happened. I have to—"

"No, hold on!" Anakin caught her arm as she turned away. She wrenched it back.

"I can't explain, I just have to—"

"Kaeden, _where is Ahsoka?_ "

"I don't _know!_ " she wailed. "I've been calling her and calling her, but she's not answering, so I have to find—"

"I'm coming with you," Anakin insisted. Padmé looked like she might be about to say the same thing, but Kaeden took a step back, closer to the stairs.

"No! Stay with Miara, please. If you're all with me—I don't know what Barriss will do, I don't know—you look after my sister," she repeated, locking eyes with Anakin, "and I'll find yours."

She spun away, and she heard him shouting after her, heard Padmé calling for her to come back, heard Miara yell something, but she was already gone.

* * *

 

The door was unlocked. Barriss pushed it open, stepping carefully over the threshold. She stood in the darkened hallway, wondering what to do next. She tried to think of the Force. If she could open her heart to it, perhaps it would tell her where to go from here. But when she reached for it, there was nothing except a cold emptiness. Maybe it had never been there at all.

Or maybe it was frightened. Maybe it was hiding from her. When she looked over her shoulder at the destruction outside, she supposed that made sense.

She took one faltering step, then another, until she found herself in the living room, where she fumbled for the light switch. The light flickered once, twice, then bathed the room in an unnatural yellow glow.

On the sofa, Luminara was sitting very still. Watching her.

"Barriss." Her eyes were very sad. "What happened?"

Barriss shook her head. "It was awful," she whispered. "It was just like always. I shouldn't have gone." Her voice cracked and she began to cry. "You were right! You were right!"

"I know," Luminara murmured. She held out her arms to her daughter, as she had not done in years, and Barriss ran to her, dropping to her knees beside the sofa. Luminara stroked her hair gently as she sobbed, repeating, "I know, I know."

"I should have listened to you," Barriss wept.

"You should," Luminara agreed in the same soft voice. "But it's alright. I know you're sorry, Barriss. I'm sorry too."

Something in the way she said it made Barriss pause. A sob caught in her throat.

"What—" she began, and then she looked up and saw the knife flash, saw it arching down towards her. She screamed, terror taking hold as she threw herself as far back as she could. Luminara rose, advancing on her, and Barriss did not think to go for the knife. Lying on her back, propped up on one elbow, she flung her hand up, clenched her fist and _squeezed_.

Luminara's eyes blew wide. She froze. The knife fell from her grasp as both hands flew to her chest. Her breathing became shallow, and she stared accusatorily at Barriss.

"What... are you..."

"Slower." Barriss squeezed harder. _Slow your heart down. All the way down._ Her own heart did something strange in response. It felt too fast, and it was beating too hard, like it would burst under the stress.

Luminara collapsed onto her hands and knees. She was still fighting for air, but it wasn't a battle she could win. Barriss could see her heart very clearly. She could make it do whatever she wanted. And what she wanted was to make it—

"Stop," Luminara hissed. Barriss lifted her chin. The blood was pounding in her ears.

" _No_."

And then she gave one final push. Her own heart surged and bright white nothingness washed over her. Luminara's heart went still, and Barriss' beat once more in a last, doomed try for survival, then gave out.

* * *

 

Ahsoka found Kaeden by accident, the two of them running down from opposite ends of the street. They collided in the middle, embracing, neither quite able to believe the other was really there. Ahsoka pulled back first, cupping Kaeden's face between her hands.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Kaeden told her, putting her hands over Ahsoka's. "What about you?"

Ahsoka shrugged one shoulder. "I'm alive. Kaeden, we have to find Barriss." She wondered if she would need to explain why, but Kaeden just nodded.

"That's her house, over there on the left." She bit her lip. "Ahsoka, I can't feel her anymore. Do you think she's dead?"

"I don't know," Ahsoka admitted. "Come on, quick." They turned and ran up the path to the front door. It was wide open, creaking back and forth, and Ahsoka had to push down a terrible sense of foreboding to make herself go through.

When they found Barriss, it looked like Kaeden had been right. Barriss lay perfectly still, one arm flung over her torso, the other outstretched. Across the room was another body, someone Ahsoka assumed was Barriss' mother. Her eyes were glassy, fixed on something the living could not see. She was past help. So, it seemed, was Barriss.

Then—

_Who is it?_

The voice in Ahsoka's head did belong to her. She gasped, more out of reflex than shock, because she knew who it was. Kaeden must have heard it too, because she lifted one shaking finger to point at Barriss.

 _It's_ _me_ , Ahsoka replied, discovering there was no need to voice her response.

 _And_ _me_ , Kaeden added in the same manner. As one, they crouched down on either side of Barriss.

A hundred thoughts and feelings hit them at once, fear and anger and humiliation and desperation and grief. Barriss caught hold of their minds, sucking them into her own.

_You tricked me. You're the worst of them all._

_No, no!_ Ahsoka insisted, struggling to disentangle herself, only to be dragged deeper into the mire. _Not us._

 _They laughed at me._ The grip on their minds was suddenly hard and painful. If Barriss died, she would take them with her.

 _Not us,_ Kaeden chimed in. _Look. Look inside._ Ahsoka felt Kaeden relinquishing her memories, handing them over for inspection, and so she did the same. Barriss seized them, tipping them out, rooting through them and tearing them up to get to the bottom. Ahsoka bit down a shout of pain as Barriss pushed through, sorting whole days from daydreams, truth from wishes, wishes from lies, herself from everything else. And there was so much of Barriss from the past few days. Barriss crying, Barriss hiding her face, and smiling, and screaming, Ahsoka and Kaeden's emotions colouring each and every image. Pity, terror, shame, sympathy—but no intent to hurt. No conspiracy, no big plan to tear her apart.

 _Not us_ , Ahsoka whispered.

 _Not you,_ Barriss agreed, sounding far away. She seemed to hesitate, then, faintly— _Help me._

Ahsoka and Kaeden looked at each other. Ahsoka was sure they were thinking the same thing. Help her? After all she'd done? So many were dead at her hands. The alternative, though, was to leave her to die. Ahsoka guessed she'd been lying there for a few minutes. She had a minute left, maybe two, before she was beyond saving.

Ahsoka didn't want to be the kind of person who let things like that happen when there was another way.

She already knew Barriss wasn't breathing, and that she had no pulse. She'd picked up a lot of little details when their minds touched.

"I've never done this on an actual person," she warned, speaking aloud this time. Her knowledge of resuscitation came from the first aid classes the school had made them all take. She'd never been so grateful for them as she was at that precise moment.

She placed her hands over Barriss' heart, one on top of the other. _Okay. I can do this._ She pressed down once, then again, and again, thirty times in quick succession. After ten, she was tired, and by fifteen she was exhausted, but she didn't give up. When she made it to thirty, she struggled to remember what came next.

"Breathing!" Kaeden encouraged. Ahsoka nodded, tipping Barriss' head back, then carefully blew air into her lungs. When she'd done it twice, she started compressions again, and this time it seemed more difficult than ever, but she didn't dare give up, not now that she could feel Barriss' presence growing stronger, fighting its way to the surface. Coming back to life.

Then Barriss drew in a deep, shuddering breath and started to cough violently. Ahsoka fell back, drained, as Kaeden slipped an arm around Barriss' shoulders and helped her to sit up. As the colour trickled back into her face, she looked around the room. Upon seeing her mother's body, she let out a strangled cry and buried her face in Kaeden's shoulder, clinging to her like her life depended on it. Kaeden began to murmur meaningless, comforting words, and she looked over Barriss' head at Ahsoka. A question flashed across her features. It was one Ahsoka understood, because she was wondering the same thing.

What were they going to do?

Barriss continued to weep noiselessly into Kaeden's shoulder, and outside, the chaos she had left behind raged on.

* * *

 

_One week later_

Three figures stepped through the doors into the spaceport. It was early morning, too early for anyone to take much of an interest in them. Or to notice that two seemed to be shielding the third, who was wearing an oversized coat with the hood up, hiding her face.

Or that the third figure was wanted in connection with nearly a thousand deaths.

When they reached a relatively secluded waiting area, Barriss took the hood down. Kaeden supposed it was hot with that thing on. It was nearly summer, after all.

"No one's watching us, right?" Kaeden asked, glancing furtively around. She couldn't help but worry about it. The three of them together were like the set-up to a bad joke. _A human, a Togruta and a Mirialan all walk into a spaceport..._

Ahsoka shook her head. "No one even saw us come in."

"How long will we have to wait?" Barriss wanted to know, twisting her hands behind her back. Kaeden checked the time.

"Not long."

For seven days and nights, Barriss had remained hidden while Ahsoka and Kaeden discovered that when the occasion called for it, they were excellent liars. Ahsoka spun stories of how she'd lost track of Barriss entirely after the ceiling collapsed in the school hall. Kaeden repeated, over and over, that she'd been at home most of the night. When the nightmare began, she and her sister had gone to hide out with some friends, where they'd remained until morning. Miara could vouch for her, as could the friends in question. Kaeden hated hearing Miara lie on her behalf, especially when she didn't know why she was doing it, but there were no other options. Ahsoka had been able to persuade Anakin and Padmé to go along with it. They'd agreed because she'd begged and pleaded, but they didn't really know why they were doing it either.

They probably wouldn't have backed the story up if they'd known that Barriss, far from having vanished off the face of the planet, was hiding in the attic at Ahsoka's.

No one was sure what to make of what she'd done. Kaeden and Ahsoka swore up and down that they had no idea what was with the whole 'psychic' thing the other survivors kept going on about. Kaeden even went so far as to suggest that it was some kind of shared, trauma-based false memory.

No one had really believed that—they couldn't, in the face of the evidence—but it was more palatable than the truth: that an unarmed teenager had managed to kill hundreds in just a few hours.

The police wanted Barriss found. Kaeden didn't think she wanted to know what would happen then.

When Ahsoka had announced she knew someone who knew someone—because she was Ahsoka, and she knew everyone—who could smuggle Barriss off-world without asking questions, Kaeden had been critical of the idea. She didn't want to voice the fact that she wasn't sure Barriss deserved a second chance, and she felt it was wrong to think so, but that was the root of the issue.

Ahsoka hadn't disagreed. She'd watched friends die, after all. But they'd both been in Barriss' mind, and they knew everything that had led up to that night. It wasn't an excuse. But it was an explanation.

The one problem they hadn't expected to encounter was reluctance on the part of Barriss herself. She'd spent three days completely mute, and when she'd spoken again, it had been to say that they didn't have to go to any trouble on her account. She'd hand herself in.

"No," Ahsoka had said grimly, "you won't. We've gotten this far. I won't let you give up now."

So, here they all were, four days after that conversation. Barriss' transport was due to leave in twenty minutes. She was going somewhere in the Outer Rim, where no one knew her. What happened after would be up to her, but she could never contact Ahsoka or Kaeden again. The risks were too great. Besides, it wasn't like they had anything to say to each other.

"I'm going to get on the ship now," Barriss told them. Kaeden nodded.

"That's probably a good idea," she said.

Now that the time had come to say goodbye, she wasn't sure how to act. What were you meant to say to someone you were never going to see again? Barriss pulled her backpack up onto her shoulders, a strange look on her face. She seemed to be searching for the right words.

"Thank you," she mumbled at last. "I—I don't deserve your kindness."

There was a pause.

Ahsoka hesitated, then she put one hand on Barriss' shoulder. "Be careful, okay?" Barriss nodded, looking between her and Kaeden, who surprised herself by managing to smile.

Barriss waited a moment longer, then she turned away. Kaeden and Ahsoka watched her go. _Just like that,_ Kaeden thought _. She'll never have to answer for what she did._ But maybe the memory of that night was punishment enough.

"Do you think she'll be alright?" she asked. Ahsoka took a long time to answer. When she spoke, Barriss was halfway across the spaceport.

"I'm not sure," was the eventual reply. "But... I hope so." She looked at Kaeden, forehead creasing. "Maybe I shouldn't. But I do."

"Me too," Kaeden agreed. "Even though I don't really want to." She didn't. But at the end of the day, Barriss wasn't so different from her, or Ahsoka, or any of the people who'd died. She was an ordinary person with an extraordinary talent, and she'd been pushed past her limit. Wherever she was going, Kaeden just hoped it wouldn't happen again. Not only for the sake of those around her, but for Barriss herself.

As if she could hear what Kaeden was thinking—and who knew? Perhaps she could—Barriss stopped. She half turned to face Kaeden and Ahsoka, nodding her farewell. Then she disappeared through a door. She did not touch it, and it didn't look automatic, but it opened before her and slammed shut in her wake.

 

 

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Look. I don't HAVE an excuse. I've just read Carrie so many times I know it by heart, so this kind of... happened.
> 
> Many thanks to AirForceMuffin on AO3 for beta-reading again!


End file.
